Tarik Skubal may very well be on his way to a second-straight AL Cy Young award, but with that comes increase financial expectations. Skubal has two years left on his contract before he reaches MLB free agency. When the time comes – god willing he is healthy – Skubal could earn the richest deal for a starting pitcher in MLB history. The Tigers, as a mid-market franchise, are well aware of this. Skubal sent them a stern warning on Monday.
“Listen, winning is where my focus is at,” Skubal told the Detroit Free Press. “There’s been some comments made that are interesting. Not from me. But I’m going to be focused about winning and doing what I can do. And as an organization, that’s where the focus should be, too.
It's that final sentiment that should scare Tigers fans the most. Skubal isn't just saying his focus is on the coming seasons, but he's also telling the Tigers not to bother. Unless Detroit comes to Skubal's representatives with a legitimate offer next winter, he's not going to consider a long-term deal.
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Tarik Skubal has one foot out the door with the Tigers
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has largely echoed that point. It's not that the Tigers don't want to sign Skubal, it's that the player himself and his agents aren't quite ready to talk capital, and we don't blame them. Skubal has a 2.06 ERA, which is 30 points lower than when he won the AL Cy Young in 2024. If he keeps up this pace, his price tag will only go up.
“I just don’t think it does any good to come out and say anything about what’s going on,” Skubal said. “If something changes, I might comment on it. But it doesn’t do any good so I’m going to keep it to myself, to my agent and to the front office.”
To Harris' credit, he hasn't made negotiations with Skubal a public matters. That'll only hurt the Tigers in the long run, and he knows it.
Tigers ownership isn't ready to pay up for Tarik Skubal
Tigers owner Chris Ilitch is notoriously frugal as compared to his father. Unless Skubal is prepared to take half of his contract in hot n ready coupons, I highly doubt Ilitch would be interested in paying him at peak value.
That being said, Skubal's comment confirmed what Tigers fans have long feared. Detroit is finally cashing in on his value now, but if Skubal leaves in just two years' time, the Tigers could be right back where they started. In this scenario, Skubal has all the leverage, and he's not about to show his cards so far ahead of time. It doesn't make sense for either side to start negotiations this far in advance. However, that also increases the risk that Skubal could leave when all is said and done.
In the high-stakes world of baseball contract negotiations, very rarely does waiting work out. For now, Skubal is sitting on pocket aces.